The Cold War
by blade4228
Summary: In a world where Naruto's mother survives to raise her child. What ripples will be thrown into the pond of destiny?
1. Chapter 1

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

**Demon/Summon/inner Sakura speech**

_**Demon/Summon thoughts**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters created by Kishimoto, but all OC's are my own creation.

Author's notes: I'm finally back and with a new story. Now I haven't abandoned my other story I'm just suffering from a massive writers block. Anyways on with the story.

* * *

Chapter 1: Missing Nee-Chan!

An agonizing scream reverberated off the dank, damp stone walls of the cave while the flickering light from the fire revealed the four people there. The first was a young woman with long red hair and a swollen belly, this woman's name was Uzumaki Kushina. Her face was contorted in agony as her muscles contracted once again as her body continued to push the matured baby out and into the world. Right beside her was an equally young man named Namakaze Minato his spiky blonde hair disheveled and matted against his face as he poured his chakra into the seal on Kushina's stomach in an effort to strengthen it long enough for her to give birth. When Kushina let out another scream of pain Minato started to panic over his wife's safety. "Can't you two do something about the pain?!" he shouted to the two medic-nins over seeing his son's birth while his panicked mind disrupted his chakra flow to the seal.

"Stop whining Minato! You're the Yondaime Hokage! So pull yourself together and do your job!" snapped the older of the two medics', her long grey hair was pulled back into a ponytail which gave Minato an unobstructed view of her scowl.

A shiver ran up his spine as his mind ran through all the possibilities that she would do to him if he didn't get better control over his emotions. He took a deep calming breath and as he went back to his task at hand he said "Alright, alright. Man Biwako… you can be real forceful when you want to be huh?"

For the next several minutes after their little banter the only sounds that could be heard in the cave were the grunts and groans of Kushina until at last the small cry of a newborn baby reverberated throughout the cave. As Biwako wrapped the baby in a linen cloth her medical assistant looked up at the newly crowned mother and excitedly shouted "Congratulations Kushina-sama it's a boy!"

A big cheeky grin spread across Kushina exhausted and pained face and as tears welled up in her eyes she reached out towards her baby with a shaky hand. "Naruto…my boy… my little baby boy." This happy moment was not destined to last however for not a moment after those words left Kushina's mouth both Biwako and her assistant's eyes rolled into the back of their heads before they fell to the ground to reveal a black cloaked man that wore a red mask with a signal eyehole in it, and this man was holding the baby Naruto in his hands. How he managed to grab Naruto without anyone noticing was a complete mystery.

As Minato reached for his kunai pouch the masked man pulled out a kunai of his own and placed it against baby Naruto's throat as he said "I wouldn't do that Yondaime. Now hand over the Kyuubi vessel or say goodbye to your son."

Ignoring the warning he had just received Minato appeared behind the masked man in a bright yellow flash and moved to take Naruto while at the same time striking the hostage taker. But much to Minato's surprise his strike passed right through the man's body as if it wasn't even there. When his fist passed clean through the assailant's body he noticed that his son had also passed through the man's hand and was falling towards the rocky floor. Minato's parental instincts kicked in at this moment but even as he tried to catch his son the masked man reached out with his left hand and grabbed a hold of Minato's Jonin vest before he created a spiraling vortex from the opening in his mask and sucked Minato into oblivion.

"Minato-kun!" screamed Kushina as she watched in abject horror at the scene in front of her and cursed her weakened state. Meanwhile the masked man grabbed Naruto just before he hit the ground and as he pulled him into a firm grip he said "Now, now, we can't have anything happen to you yet. After all we wouldn't want mommy to get any ideas would we?"

Kushina let out a low growl at the implied threat but when she saw him tighten his grip on the baby's throat she let out a sigh and lowered her head in defeat. The man quickly appeared right beside her and placed his free hand over top of the seal on Kushina's stomach. Excruciating pain coursed through Kushina's body as the Kyuubi was forcibly ripped from her body, and as her world began to fade into darkness she distinctly heard the sound of a newborn baby's neck being snapped.

"NARUTO!" screamed Kushina as she shot up from her sleeping bag, a cold sweat pouring off her face. Wiping the perspiration from her brow she took a few moments to gain her bearings. "…a dream… it was just a dream." She kept muttering to herself for the next several minutes in an effort to collect her thoughts and calm herself down.

Once she was cool and collective she slowly surveyed her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was how the early morning sun seemed to give the simple tan cloth that made up the outside of the tent a warm orange glow. The next thing she noticed were two dark tan traveling packs partially open to reveal all the necessities one would need when planning to be away from home for a while. Then her eyes fell upon an empty sleeping bag that was right next to her. Her eyes widened slightly and she jumped out of her own sleeping bag and ran outside grabbing her Staff on the way out.

A cool morning breeze blew across her face as she exited the tent and surveyed the wooded area they had decided to camp for the night. When she saw no sign of the person she was looking for her worry turned into a deep sense of dread, and as she strapped her Staff onto her back she grumbled "Damn it Naruto! Where the hell are you?"

* * *

Meanwhile as the sun started to shine through the trees in another part of the forest, signifying the start of a new day, a young spikey haired blonde no older than sixteen sat perched on a branch that was completely shrouded in shadows. This teenager's name was Uzumaki Naruto and he was covertly observing a lone traveler. The traveler in question was walking along the only dirt road that led safely out of the forest. He watched her with such skill in the art of stealth that it would make most veteran shinobi green with envy.

'_She's no ordinary traveler that's for sure.' _he thought to himself as his eyes narrowed and he began to study this traveler in greater detail. Her red hair that was similar in color to his mother's was the first thing that drew his attention followed by her blue dress, but what really caught his eye was the fishnet stockings and shin guards indicating to him that she was no simple villager. _'Is she a bandit, a mercenary or perhaps… even a shinobi?'_ thought Naruto as he noticed that her movements were too fluid and well-timed, and while it did give off the appearance of a relaxed traveler the reality of it was that this traveler was ready to strike at any given moment.

"You know it's considered impolite for little boys to be peeking on older woman." whispered a voice directly behind Naruto, who spun around so fast that a normal person would have gotten dizzy only to see the very same woman he was watching just a moment ago. Quickly turning back toward the road his eyes widened in shock when all he saw was a small puddle of water where the red haired woman once was before he thought _'Mizu-bunshin!? Shit!'_

Not one to waste an opportunity such as this the red haired woman immediately moved to strike Naruto only to be surprised when he seemingly faded out of existence. Her eyes instantly moved to her left where she saw that the teen had just landed on a tree branch only a few yards away. _'He's fast.'_ The red haired lady thought to herself before a smile graced her lips as she muttered "It may be worthwhile to recruit him."

"But just to be sure, I think a little test is in order." Muttered the woman as she appeared beside Naruto and went to deliver a kick to the back of his head, but just as her foot was about to make contact Naruto stepped off the branch.

When the branch pasted by his chest he swiftly twirled around and gabbed a hold of it. Using this momentum to his advantage Naruto swung a full three hundred sixty degrees around and landed a mule kick to the red haired lady's back, which sent the surprised woman sailing towards the ground below. However just before she collided with the ground she twisted her body and gracefully landed on her feet, making it appear as if it was just another day at the office.

Naruto however wasn't impressed with her display, instead he looked at her with a critical eye as he thought to himself, _'Yup definitely a shinobi… and a very skilled one too. I know those hits connected and yet she acts like it didn't even phase her.'_ His eyes widened dramatically as a sudden realization accrued to him. _'Maybe she's even skilled enough to…'_ They then narrowed dangerously at that thought and as he glared at the woman he growled "Where's Nee-Chan?"

"What… Nee-Chan?" questioned the woman as her eyes darted from left to right as if she was searching her memory for any recollection of such a person. After only a few seconds of contemplation she turned toward Naruto and said "What the hell are you talking about?"

Her denial of his accusation only seemed to anger Naruto further and as he shot off the tree branch he shouted "Don't lie to me!"

The red-haired woman just barely moved her head out of the way as Naruto's fist grazed her left cheek. Tired of just being on the defensive the woman twisted her body and landed a spinning heel kick to Naruto's back, which sent him stumbling forward. After he recovered his balance Naruto quickly spun around to face his opponent all the while mentally berating himself for letting his emotions get the best of him and not following his nee-Chan's motto 'Only ask questions when in interrogation'.

Steeling himself with this new resolve he shifted his weight so he could easily respond to any situation that presented itself and just started down the woman looking for any sign of her next move. Meanwhile the red haired beauty was making some observations of her own, and when she took a closer look at Naruto's stance she was surprised by what she found. While his style was loose and appeared sloppy, yet somehow oddly familiar, her keen since of observation couldn't detect any openings in it, it was as if he was prepared for any type of taijutsu attack.

A smirk spread across her face as a sudden idea popped into her head. After a quick scan of the area her eyes feel upon a small pond, and as her smirk grew even bigger she thought to herself _'Well if a direct Taijutsu attack won't work let's see how he handles this…'_

She flew through a series of hand-seals so fast that if one would have blinked they would have missed it, and once the last seal was formed water erupted from the pond and formed a giant Dragon's head before it arced back around and charged toward Naruto, its watery teeth glistening in the morning sunlight. As the dragon approached Naruto's loose combat stance suddenly hardened and his eyes took on a look of intense concentration almost as if he was focusing every fiber of his being into his next move.

Naruto suddenly jumped into the air and as he came back down he twisted his body so that he did a heel drop to the dirt below. At first the red haired woman thought the teen had lost his mind preforming a move like that against a water dragon, but as she studied him further she noticed an odd distortion moving rapidly toward her own attack. Upon closer examination of the distortion she noticed that though it was small in its width its height was easily twice the size of her, clear evidence that it was loaded with Naruto's chakra. Her eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind. _'Could that be some kind of wind attack or is it strictly chakra based?'_

Her question was quickly answered when the two jutsu's collided with each other and for the briefest of moments she thought that perhaps she was wrong, but as Naruto's attack started to cut its way through the water dragon, sending the water spraying both to the left and the right of the attack, she was forced to reconsider that thought.

When the attack finally cut its way completely through the water dragon it didn't stop there as one would expect it to instead it continued on its course of destruction and its course took it on a collision course with the female beauty.

But at the last second she jerked her body to the right and just in time too as the blade of wind blasted right by mere inches from her face; in fact it took a few strands of her red hair in the process. As the hairs floated to the ground she whipped her head back around toward Naruto, a look of awe and shock plastered all over her face as she had never seen such a large condensed blade of wind before.

But before she could even contemplate her next move several segmented pieces of carbon steel pieces connected by chains wrapped around her neck. As she reflexively brought her hands up to her neck she tilted her to the side to see who was attacking her, and when her eyes fell upon fiery red hair and violet eyes her own eyes widened in shock.

However before she could even say anything the newly arrived woman growled "The reason, the only reason you're even still breathing is because I could tell you were only testing my son. Now you're going to tell me just what you were testing him for."

Finally coming out of her shock the red haired warrior just stared at the woman behind her and stuttered "Kushina!? Uzumaki Kushina!?"

"Sorry wrong person. My name's Fujikaze Kikyo." Kushina lied then before Mei could question her about this she decided to add a little bit of true in as well. "And last I heard this Uzumaki Kushina died nearly fifteen years ago after a..., 'Incident' occurred in Konoha.'

As the memories of that fateful event flashed before her eyes she got a solemn expression on her face, but when she reached the end of these flashes her spirits lifted a little. "Though it is said that she took a good portion of the Uchiha Clan with her when she went, including their Clan head at the time Uchiha Fugaku." Then an imaged of Fugaku's expression as he met his end appeared in her mind and she couldn't help but chuckle "I guess the old saying is true after all."

Not really understanding the meaning of Kushina's last words the red haired woman quirked her right eyebrow and asked "And what old saying is that?"

"Never come between a mother bear and her cub." Replied Kushina and as she tightened her odd weapon around the woman's throat, and once she was sure that the woman's airways were restricted enough to cause pain but do no long lasting damage she said "Now why don't you answer this 'Mother Bear's' earlier question and tell me why you were testing my son."

"And let's not forget about Nee-Chan!" shouted Naruto as he spoke for the first time since his mother arrived.

Kushina gave Naruto a sharp menacing gaze that for all intents and purposes told Naruto that they would be having a talk later about his running off on his own before she said "Yes I was also going to ask her about our missing compatriot Fujikaze Asagi."

Quickly assessing all available options the red haired woman took a deep breath as she came to a decision. Turning her head as far as her neck restraint would allow her she locked eyes with Kushina and said "Fine… I'll tell you my reasons for testing him if you come clean about who you really are."

"What are you insinuating?" asked Kushina as she tightened her grip on her weapon ready to cut off this woman's air supply should the need arise.

Keeping her eyes locked on Kushina the woman went into her own mind and dredged up a memory from her past. "I may have only been a fresh out of the academy genin when it happened, but I remember your face… I could never forget your face, not after what happened at Mashin Pass."

Kushina's eyes widened in shock and at the mention of that place, her eyes focused more on this young woman before a memory flashed before her eyes one of a young terrified red haired girl bathed in blood. As she shook the memory from her mind she muttered to herself "…Terumi Mei."

"I see you do remember me Kushina-san." muttered Mei as she shook off her own memories of that fateful day that is forever burned into her memory.

Seeing no point in denying it any further Kushina let out a sigh of defeat before she said "Yeah I remember that day…" Her posture then resumed its previous rigidity and as she tightened her weapon, that's wrapped around Mei's neck, she softly whispered into Mei's ear. "But now that you know who I am. What's keeping me from killing you right here and now?"

Thinking quickly on her feet Mei came to a decision that she hoped would save her life. "You don't need to worry about your secret getting out Kushina-san, because I have no intention of reporting your survival to Konoha." Mei the shifted her eyes so that she was looking at the ground in disgust. "Especially not after the last meeting I had with their Hokage."

Quirking an eyebrow at that last comment Kushina very lightly eased up on the pressure she was putting on Mei's neck as she asked "What are you jabbering about?"

Realizing that it was useless to even try to talk Kushina into letting her go before she explained her situation she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding before she said "Not that long ago I had a meeting with the Sandaime Hokage to try and broker a deal in which Konoha would help us overthrow the Yondaime Mizukage and his tyrannical rule against those how have Kekkei Genkai."

"Let me guess he threw you out before you could even make a compelling case." Snorted Kushina as she remembered her own talks with the aged leader and the problems she and baby Naruto had faced when they lived there because of his platitudes.

With a slight nod of the head to confirm Kushina's words Mei replied "Got it in one. Before I could even say a word he told me that he had no intention of getting involved in our 'internal conflict'."

"That doesn't surprise me." Mumbled Kushina and after she shook her head in a mixture of disgust and irritation she vocalized her question she had ever since Mei started this line of conversation. "But that still doesn't explain why I shouldn't kill you or why you were testing my son earlier."

When she noticed that it was now or never Mei took a deep breath before she tilted her head back so she could look at Kushina and said "Because I want to recruit both of you into helping us deal with the Yondaime Mizukage before he instigates a massacre of the remaining Kekkei Genkai clans."

Not releasing he hold on her prisoner Kushina continued with her questioning. "And what about our compatriot, do you know what happened to her?"

Using what limited neck movement she had Mei shook her head in a negative as she said "Unfortunately I don't, you two are the first one's I've encountered since I left that village a few miles back. If it helps my case at all I was on my way to Wave when I noticed your son observing me from the trees."

At the mention of Wave both Naruto and Kushina stiffened and before Kushina could say anything Naruto shouted "That just proves you had something to do with Nee-Chan's disappearance! She went missing when she was on her way to Wave!"

The harsh glare that Kushina sent at Naruto for his outburst told him all he needed to know. He crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips into a pout before he grumbled "Ok, ok, ok! I get it already. I'll keep quiet until you're finished."

After a quick nod of approval towards her son Kushina turned her attention back towards her captive and said "My son does have a point, it is awfully suspicion that both of you have the same destination. Care to explain that one?"

"It's simple really." replied Mei as she quickly came to a fateful decision. "I've received intelligence the Momochi Zabuza and his gang is doing a job in Wave. Perhaps he's the one that's taken you friend."

"Seems unlikely…" muttered Kushina as she seemed unconvinced of the possibility. "We've been aware of Zabuza's presence in Wave for some time now but have yet to hear anything about him taking prisoners. In fact I'd find it a bit odd if he did take one given his reputation."

Mei thought about this for a moment before she responded "While it's true that he doesn't normally take prisoners. He might have if he's working for someone… then he may have been forced to take her as a prisoner no matter his personal feelings."

Kushina seemed to ponder this for a moment before she said "My sources do have him working for the slimy bastard Gato at the moment. So what you're saying is possible, but still… something seems off. I'm sure I would have heard something by now if Gato had Zabuza take her prisoner."

"Kaa-san, do you think that maybe just maybe he's keeping the knowledge of Nee-Chan's capture between himself and this Zabuza guy? It would explain why we haven't heard anything wouldn't it?" interrupted Naruto hoping that his input might help.

Sensing an opportunity that she could use to her advantage Mei said "I'm sure that's what happened. So I'll tell you what, let's make a deal Kushina."

"Deal?" questioned Kushina as she arced her right eyebrow wondering just what Mei had planned "What kind of deal?"

A smile spread across the captured woman's face. "It's a simple one really. Since we're both heading to Wave why don't we team up? I'll help you find and rescue your missing teammate; all I want in return is for you to fight with us against the Mizukage's reign of terror."

When Kushina didn't outright refuse he proposal Mei's smile got a little bit wider as she asked "I take it that means you're open to the idea then?"

After a few more minutes of contemplative silence Kushina finally said "If you help us rescue Asagi from whoever has taken her, I can guarantee that we will help you recruit Zabuza into your little rebellion, since I'm assuming that's why you're headed there in the first place."

Mei nodded her head in acknowledgement of Kushina's assumption but still had a lingering question swimming around her head. "So what about it will you and your group joining our 'Little Rebellion' against the Mizukage?"

"That decision will have to wait until after we've rescued Asagi. I won't take any action on that front until I've had a chance to talk it over with everyone in our group that will be involved." said Kushina as she started to loosen her grip on her weapon that was wrapped around Mei's neck.

"Deal." Mei quickly replied and as the chained weapon freed her neck she reached up and rubbed the bruises that had formed before she added "So are you ready to head out now?"

Once Kushina's chained weapon had reformed back into a staff and was strapped to her back she said "No we need to head back to our campsite and gather our things before he can head out."

After Kushina gave a quick nod to Naruto to indicate that he was to lead the way the small band took to the trees. Then as fast as any normal person would have seen they disappeared in a swirl of dust in the wind.

* * *

Coldness, dampness, a feeling of being trapped in an endless void, these were the sensations that one Fujikaze Asagi awoke to as her befuddled mind tried to figure out just what was going on. But when her mind finally cleared and she could take in her surroundings she knew for sure that she was in deep, for no matter where she looked all she saw was a never ending dark abyss.

The first indication that she was actually in some kind of room was when she felt something cold and metallic wrapped around her wrists. The loud clanking that ensued when she tried to move either of her arms made it pretty obvious that it was a chain and it was securely fastened to a wall that was out of reach.

'_Damn this is bad… really bad.'_ She thought to herself after taking several deep breaths to better hone her senses to figure out where she was. With her sight useless in this darkness and sound being practically nonexistent she used her since of touch to at least get a feel as to what the ground was like. The first sensation her bare knees felt against the ground was the smooth, cool dampness of a man made stone floor.

But before she had a chance to explore her surrounding further a bright burning light flashed directly into her face, which caused her purple hair to almost shine in the darkness. As Asagi flinched at the blinding effect of such a strong light a big booming voice reverberated around the room. "Where's your master hiding?!"

When Asagi didn't immediately respond to the question, do to her still adjusting to the sudden change in lighting, the voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time boomed once more. "I'll say it again. Where is your master hiding?"

Narrowing her eyes at the spotlight in front of her, since that's all she could see in the darkened room, she spat "Go fuck yourself!"

Her agonizing screams reverberated throughout the room as an electrical current ran from the chains that were attached to her wrists and coursed through her entire body. After what felt like an eternity to her the electrical current stopped, but if one were to look close enough one would swear that they saw smoldering smoke coming off of her skin. Asagi took several ragged breaths and did her best to ignore the searing pain pulsating from every nerve ending in her body. Then after only a few moments of a reprieve another jolt of electricity shot through her and once the electrical current stopped the voice spoke again "As you can see back talk will not be tolerated. So if you don't want to experience that again tell me where your master is."

Instead of answering straight away Asagi narrowed her eyes and gave a glare of such intensity that if looks could kill her stare would have done so. She then hurled the biggest wad of spit she could muster just to the left of the giant spotlight in front of her in the hopes of it at least hitting her tormentor. But when she heard her spit hit nothing but the solid stone floor the punishment for such an act was given.

When her screams finally died and the smoke rose from her body the large booming voice spoke once again. "This is resistance is pointless Anko, you know as well as I that you'll eventually break and tell us everything we want to know about your master."

"…Anko?" replied the now identified woman as he head shot up and for the briefest of moments a look of surprised shown in her eyes. Once that moment had passed however Anko put the best smirk she could on her face before she said "Sorry… can't say I know that person. My name's Fujikaze Asagi."

A deep chuckle echoed throughout the room as the voice behind this interrogation had seemed to find Anko's declaration rather amusing. Then after only a moment of silence the voice boomed "Do you take me for a fool? We have already had your I.D. confirmed as one Mitarashi Anko, current C-ranked missing-nin from the village of Konoha, and apprentice to infamous S-ranked missing-nin Orochimaru. Now make this easy on yourself and tell us where your master Orochimaru is hiding."

Anko stared off into the darkness that was behind the spotlight almost as if she actually could see someone back there before she got this look of disgust on her face and practically snarled "That old yellow eyed snake-faced bastard? Don't you think that if I knew where that slimy asshole was I would have killed him by now?!"

The resounding silence in the room made it clear to Anko that whoever was questioning her hadn't expected that response. After only a few more seconds of silence a low chuckle was heard before the booming voice said "You're a better liar than I gave you credit for Anko. I almost bought that, but now that I see that you're going to continue to be difficult I guess we should move on to more… effective methods."

"Do your worst." snapped Anko as she glared into the darkness just waiting for a chance to catch a glimpse of her tormentor. "It'll just make gutting you all the sweeter."

The scoff that Anko heard told her clearly that whoever was behind this clearly didn't believe her. "You honestly think that you'll be able to escape and fulfill your threat?"

Anko got a glint in her eye that would send a shiver down even Orochimaru's spine as she snarled "Of course, because when they come for me…"

"They?" asked the voice in clear bewilderment of Anko's last statement. "Once again, you honestly think Orochimaru will send people to come and rescue you?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the spotlight in front of her as she hissed "Of course not you asshole! He'd sooner lop off his own arm than come to my aid. They on the other hand…"

A sudden hissing noise filled the blackened room, Anko snapped her head left and right in an effort to location what was creating the noise. Then when her eyes fell upon the gaseous cloud that rose in front of the spotlight she let out a gasp as she realized what was going on. As she held her breath in an effort to prolong whatever effects the gas would have on her she heard the booming voice one last time. "Since we don't seem to be getting anywhere with our current method. I think it's time we move on to our more advanced methods."

But after several moments of since the voice seemed to realize Anko was holding her breath in response to the plight the gas filling the room represented so it added "Oh in order to move you to your new accommodations we've filled the room with a simple knock-out gas. We wouldn't want you to get any idea while in transport now would we?"

Anko could swear that she heard the voice chuckle at his own choice of words, but as seconds started to turn to minutes she found she cared less and less about the reverberating chuckles. Then after what felt like hours the person behind the voice decided they'd had enough of Anko's resistance and sent several jolts of electricity through her body. She held it in for as long as she could but eventually the pain became too much and she screamed out in agony. With the knockout gas filling her lungs and her consciousness slowly leaving her only one thought continued to run around in her head giving her a since of hope that she would need to survive her future ordeals.

'_They will come for me… They will come.'_

* * *

Next Chapter: The Marauders!


	2. Chapter 2

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

**Demon/Summon/inner Sakura speech**

_**Demon/Summon thoughts**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters created by Kishimoto, but all OC's are my own creation.

Author's note: I'd like to thank by Beta's for going over this and helping correct any mistakes that I made.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Marauders!

The cool, crisp midnight air sent a shiver down the kunoichi's spine as she leapt from tree branch to tree branch. She was well aware of the fact that the light of the full moon was the only thing illuminating her path through the darkened forest and that right now was the perfect time for her to walk into an ambush. When she landed on the next branch on her path out she took a couple of moments to catch her breath and as a precaution scan the area for any signs of her pursuers.

Her eyes darted left, then right peering through the darkness for anything out of the ordinary that would alert her to any danger present. Upon finding none she plopped down on the branch and wiped the sweat from her brow while pondering her next move. It had been twelve hours since she had fled, and she was sure that if she didn't have some kind of plan in place for dealing with her pursuers then this little bid for freedom would have been for nothing.

But before she could even come up with a single idea to secure her freedom her highly tuned senses went haywire alerting her that the ones after her were closing in, and if she wanted to stay one step ahead she needed to leave right now. Getting to her feet in an instant she jumped off the branch her green hair shimmering in the moonlight, and as her orange eyes continued to scan the area in case they manage to get ahead of her she wondered if there would ever be a time where she wouldn't have to fear for her life.

Her name was Fuu, and she was the Jinchuriki of the Shichibi.

* * *

From a branch overlooking a hastily created makeshift campsite, Naruto stifled a yawn as the first rays of sunshine hit his face. He always did find watch duty boring but this time it was especially so since they were so close to Wave and this is where his sister in all but blood had gone missing. Finally having enough of just sitting around doing nothing he jumped down off the branch with every intention of waking up the other two members of this little group. But just as his feet touched the ground his highly trained senses detected movement of an unknown person about 100 to 200 yards south of them in the thickest foliage of the forest. Deciding to take the bull by the horns so to speak, and make sure that this person wasn't any kind of threat Naruto took to the trees once again and headed off in the direction of the detected movement. But just as he had gotten to the edge of the campsite a small shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the tongue lashing Kushina had given him about taking off on his own. So to avoid getting on his mother's bad side again he made a clone to inform her of what he was up to.

Once he reached his intended destination Naruto carefully took note of the area. The thick foliage and tree roots that seemed to just burst from the ground was indeed an excellent spot to hide, or in a worst case scenario lay in wait for some unsuspecting victim to come along. That particular scenario was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. Slowly and with as much stealth as this unforgiving area would allow he waded his way through the brush making his way to where all of his senses were telling him this unknown person was.

Then just as he had gotten to within a hundred feet of a green haired girl resting in a clearing, a group of men wearing white ANBU style masks with strange markings landed in a circular pattern around the young girl. This told Naruto right off the bat that not only were they your usual special forces but if he was a betting man he'd have to say that it seemed as if this group was here for the soul purpose of capturing this person. His thoughts on the matter were cut short when he saw the leader of the group approach the girl.

"You're outnumbered and exhausted Fuu, just give it up." The contempt rolling off the leader's voice was so palatable that it made Naruto wonders just what this young woman named Fuu had done to deserve it.

But when he turned his attention back to her he was surprised to see that she returned that contempt tenfold. "You've been waiting for this moment for a long time hasn't you, you bastard?" When a slight smirk was the leaders only response Naruto suddenly felt a huge charka surge come from Fuu before she shouted "Well then if you think you got the balls for it bring it! I don't even care if you all attack at once. I'll take you all on!"

As Fuu charged her attackers Naruto had seen enough and was about to go and help the green haired girl when an arm suddenly grabbed his shoulder preventing him from joining the fight. He immediately spun around to confront this assailant only to be stopped in his tracks when he saw his mother, Uzumaki Kushina, standing there, but before he could react to this in any way she brought her index finger up to his lips as she mouthed 'not yet".

Just then a huge charka spike unlike anything Naruto had experienced before permeated the area and as he looked back towards Fuu he saw that she was enveloped in a golden chakra that wiped and whirled around her in an angry and violent manner. Then to his great surprise the golden chakra that was eradiating off of Fuu's back molded itself into insect like wings. Naruto's jaw dropped as he recognized this telltale sign immediately and he knew right then and there just what Fuu really was.

"She's just like me…" Naruto muttered to himself as he stood there transfixed on the scene in front of him.

Unfortunately Fuu's impressive display was short lived when the leader of the assault squad, assigned to retrieve their wayward Jinchuriki, channeled his chakra and made a single hand seal. This time it was Kushina who narrowed her eyes in suspicion when she saw Fuu clutch her right bicep, exactly where her forehead protector was located, as if she was experiencing extreme pain. Then much to Naruto and Kushina's surprise the huge charka shroud that had enveloped Fuu just a few seconds before receded back into her body, and once it was completely contained back within its seal she collapsed to the ground as if she was suddenly exhausted. Suspicion ran rampant in Kushina's mind as to what just happened to the Jinchuriki. She had a few ideas but without any solid evidence no conclusions could be made. So when she saw the leader approach Fuu she focused on the conversation that was about to take place.

"Did you honestly think we would let you run around without some kind of leash?" the leader sneered as he motioned for his men to bind the weakened Fuu, and once she was safely secured he leaned in further and said "Now _our_ superiors want to know. Why did you flee the village?"

Even bound Fuu's spirit refused to be broken, which was reflected in her eyes and the look of defiance that never left her face as she snarled "Piss off."

The leader tired of her backtalk quickly backhanded her across the face. "Stop wasting our time, and just tell us why you abandoned the village that raised and fed you!"

After she spat the blood out of her mouth she glared at her attacker and growled out a question of her own. "Why stay loyal to a village that isn't loyal to me?"

The second backhand that Fuu received for her mouth pushed Naruto's patients to the breaking point but just before he was about to do something to help his fellow Jinchuriki Kushina tightened her grip on his shoulder and signaled that he needed to wait for just a bit more. He let out a quiet sigh of aggravation before he turned his attention back towards Fuu.

"Isn't loyal to you?" snarled the leader as he grabbed her by the throat and slowly began to squeeze. "And what prey tell ever gave you that idea?"

The sudden lack of oxygen due to the hand wrapped around her throat made her gasp and struggle for air but her defiance never left her eyes as she managed to choke out "I… I know… how you plan… to deal with… the Akatsuki."

Those words shocked the leader so much that he released his grip and as Fuu took several gulps of air he looked down at her in disbelief and asked "What did you say?"

After she got her breathing under control Fuu lifted her head and glared at the man with all of the hatred one would have for a deep betrayal before she spat "Did you really think I wouldn't find out! You profess about loyalty to the village, yet it was that very village that planned to just hand me over to those bastards in order to save their own ass!"

Kushina's head snapped up as a sudden idea on how to deal with this situation popped into her mind. Working quickly she pulled out a scroll she had on her and smeared some blood on the seal which caused its content to be called forth.

When Naruto received half of the contents which his mother had unsealed he looked at her with a cocked eyebrow as if to silently ask 'Really… you keep these on you at all times?' After a sheepish shrug of the shoulders from his mother in response to the unspoken question he looked back at the black cloak with red clouds on it and a smile formed on his face as he immediately knew what Kushina had planned. Once the cloak was on and the straw hat was on top of his head Naruto pulled the black mask that was draped around his neck, up so that he would cover his whisker like birth marks. With his identity completely concealed he turned towards his mother and saw that she too was ready to enact her plan.

Meanwhile the leader of the group that was assigned to capture Fuu recovered from his initial shock of her words before a snarl spread across his lips. "So you managed to find that out did you? Well I guess that means you leave me no other choice."

But before Fuu could even formulate a response Kushina dressed in her black cloak with red clouds appeared right behind the leader and plunged a Kunai straight into his heart killing him instantly. While at that very same moment Naruto appeared right behind the shinobi that was closest to Fuu and cleanly snapped the man's neck.

Deciding to sell the deception even further Kushina didn't wait for any kind of reaction from the survivors before she seemingly vanished before the retrieval teams eyes, then within the blink of an eye she reappeared behind the closest member. She then delivered a devastating blow to the man's throat crushing the man's windpipe. As the man crumpled to the ground gasping his last breath she returned to her original spot before she said "The Jinchuriki is ours… interference will not be tolerated."

The remaining two members of the retrieval team took several steps back while one of them sputtered; "I-It's the Akatsuki! We've got to get ou…"

The man's words died in his mouth as a kunai slashed across his throat. As the man slumped down to the ground choking on his own blood a shuriken pierced the forehead of the last remaining survivor of the capture team. Once that man's lifeless body hit the ground Naruto walked over to him and removed the shuriken from the corpse. As he put the shuriken back into his holster his actions caught up with him and he got a remorseful look on his face. "Kaa-san… do you think there will ever be a time where we won't have to live by the motto, 'Leave no witnesses'?"

A hint of sadness was reflected in Kushina's eyes as she mentally cursed fate for forcing her son to grow up so fast and have to kill in order to remain under the radar so that he can survive. After several moments of reflective silence she could only mutter her response "I hope so Naruto-kun… I truly hope so."

Taking quick stock of everything that needed to be done in order to cover their tracks Kushina turned towards her son, "Naruto-kun why don't you go look after our… guest. I'll clean up here."

"You sure Kaa-san?" asked Naruto as he surveyed all the bodies and new just how much work would go into 'cleaning up' this mess.

A soft smile graced her lips at her son's concern before she gave a halfhearted wave of dismissal with her hand as she said "I'm sure… now go and see to the damsel we just saved will you?"

With a silent nod of agreement Naruto turned and headed towards the bound and captured Fuu. When he was finally next to Fuu she tightened her muscles in preparation for her resistance and with a defiant look on her face she snarled "If you think you've got it easy just because I'm already bound you better think again buster!"

"Whoa ease up there. I'm not your enemy." Naruto said as he put his hands up in a nonthreatening manner all the while moving very slowly towards her. Seeing the look of disbelief upon her face he decided to go for broke. "Besides why would I want to harm one of my own kinds?"

"Your own…kind?" questioned Fuu as her right eyebrow rose in obvious confusion and wonder.

A fox like smile spread across his face as he jabbed his thumb into his chest while at the same time used his other hand to remove his mask to reveal his whisker like birthmarks. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuriki of Kyuubi no Yoko, and just all around badass!"

"Nar…" Kushina started to shout before she quickly corrected herself, "Menma!"

Naruto cringed at the harsh tone in his mother's voice and immediately understood what she was implying. He gave a heavy sigh of resignation before he looked a Fuu and in a much more muted tone said, "But you can call me Fujikaze Menma, or if you want you can use my codename Fox."

"Your codename is Fox? Why would you need a codename when it's already apparent that you're using a fake one?" question Fuu as her anger at being betrayed by her own village was quickly being replaced by her curiosity for this strange, apparent Jinchuriki and his female partner.

Scratching the back of his head in a moment of embarrassed uncertainty Naruto got a cheesy grin on his face as he tried to change the subject, "Ah… let's talk about that later. First I want to take a look and see just what they used on you to subdue you so easily."

Instinctively twisting her body so that her right arm was away from Naruto her face changed to one of suspicion and anger. "You think I'm going to let you learn how to hurt me too?!"

Naruto arced his left eyebrow in confusion at her sudden outburst before he said "Didn't I just tell you that I wouldn't hurt my own kind?"

A small blush of embarrassment appeared upon Fuu's cheeks for letting her instinctual fear of being hurt override her actions. But when her eyes fell upon the redheaded teammate of Naruto they hardened. "What about her? How do I know she wouldn't use it to try and cause me pain?"

A small chuckle escaped Naruto's lips at the mere thought of his mother even contemplating harming another Jinchuriki out of spite. After taking a few moments to collect himself he knelt down right next to her and said "I really doubt my Kaa-san wants to cause you pain Fuu-chan. After all she is the former Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko."

Fuu's jaw dropped at this statement and as she turned her gaze back towards Kushina she stuttered "Y-you mean we can survive having them taken out of us?"

"No." snapped Naruto before he looked over at his mother and with a solemn expression on his face he said "She still refuses to talk about it, but from what I've been able to figure out, her Uzumaki blood kept her from instantly dying when Kyuubi was extracted. Don't get me wrong she was still dying from the damage the extraction caused. Best I can figure is something happened that prevented her from dying… something that caused someone else to sacrifice themself so she could survive."

So caught up in her own disbelief Fuu muttered just what was on her mind "Who? Who would do that for a Jinchuriki?"

"Don't know." Responded Naruto as his gazed softened, "But it must have been someone who was important to her."

After a few moments of silence between the two Fuu offered no further resistance as Naruto took off her forehead protector which was wrapped around her right bicep and began to look at the seal that lay underneath. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw he snapped his head around towards the direction of his mother and shouted "Kaa-san! You need to take a look at this right now!"

In the blink of an eye Kushina was at Naruto's side examining the seal. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she recognized the seal no matter how crude or amateurish it was done there was no doubt in her mind that this was an Uzumaki seal. "When I get my hands on whoever placed this on you I'm going to…" seethed Kushina as her anger was so intense that it seemed to bring her hair to life as it slithered and wiggled like that of a snake. This and the fact she was radiating killing intent actually frightening the two Jinchuriki.

Overcoming her fear of the red-haired woman Fuu swallowed a lump in her throat and asked "So what does this seal do? I always thought it was just supposed to immobilize me with pain until they could capture me."

Kushina took several moments to rein her temper in before she answered Fuu's question. "No it was never meant to immobilize… it was meant for a far more sinister purpose. This seal originated from the Uzumaki's Torture and Interrogation division. It was designed to activate every single pain receptor in the human body, and keep them active until the goal of the interrogator was achieved. Imagine every single nerve ending on fire causing you unimaginable pain while at the same time preventing the brain from shutting down until the subject was broken."

"But then why didn't they just use it to make her their little puppet?" asked Naruto.

"Simple really… the seal is imperfect." Kushina replied as she turned Fuu's arm slightly to get a better look at the seal. It was a simple square shaped design with the Kaji for pain, torture, suffering and truth along the Uzumaki spiral painted within. After letting everyone get a good look at the seal she pointed to a particularly smudged and distorted part before she said "See here the control for shutting down the seal when the subject is broken isn't working. If they had just left it active Fuu here, would have eventually gone insane and become a liability for them."

A shiver ran down Fuu's spine at the thought of being tortured until she lost her mind and had become nothing more than a beast. She then looked up at Kushina with a bit of apprehension and fear in her eyes as she asked her next question. "Can it… can it be removed?"

Kushina looked down at the female Jinchuriki and let a smile cross her lips "Well the ink is of the lowest quality, the workmanship is sloppy and obviously done by an amateur. So I should be able to remove it in no time."

As she reached into her pouch to retrieve the needed materials her head suddenly shot up as if she had just remembered something. She quickly turned to Naruto and said "When we get back to camp I want you to contact the others. Tell them that as of now we will actively and covertly disrupt any Taki missions we come across. I want their shinobi to look inept and useless understood?"

"Clearly Kaa-san." Said Naruto as a predatory smile spread across his lips in anticipation of just what they were going to do to bring Taki to its knees in retaliation for what they did to a fellow Jinchuriki.

Fuu looked from mother to son a couple of time before she asked "Others? Do you have other Jinchuriki with you?"

"Sadly no, you're the first Jinchuriki that we've come across." replied Naruto before he glanced at his mother with a silent plea in his eyes. After a discreet nod from her he got a big grin on his face and turned his attention back towards Fuu. "But we are part of a group of… misfits that have banded together under the leadership of my Kaa-san here."

At the mention of a group renewed fears of these too just going to use and toss her away when they were done with her flooded her mind, but before she could even verbalize her feelings Naruto seemed to sense what she was thinking. "We aren't going to use you. Our group is made up of people who have been… abandoned by normal society. Kaa-san banded us together so that we could protect ourselves and survive in this world." said Naruto as he did his best to reassure Fuu that they meant her no harm.

Seeing that she was seriously thinking over what he had just told her Naruto saw an opportunity here and decided to take a chance. After another discreet nod from his mother Naruto couldn't help but let his foxy grin returned in full force. "If you want you can join us. You know what they say strength in numbers and all."

Fuu was shocked, never in her life had she ever been given such an open gesture of kindness. Here these people just showed up out of nowhere and helped save her from her captures as well as freed her from a vile seal that could have driven her insane, and to top it all off they clearly didn't want anything in return. In fact Fuu was starting to suspect that the only reason they told her about this group of theirs was because she asked. With all these facts swirling around her head one thought kept popping up _'What do I really have to lose.'_

After what felt like an eternity for her but was in fact only a few seconds she came to a decision, and after she made up her mind she couldn't help but realize that in the end she really didn't have any other choice. With a faint smile on her face she said "Sure I'll join your little group. It does seem to be my best chance at survival after all."

"There finished!" interrupted Kushina as she put the last of her tools away before she turned back towards Fuu and with a huge grin on her face she pumped her fist in the air and said "Even though it was in such piss poor condition I managed to remove it without any problems. Damn I'm good!"

The two of them looked at Kushina for a moment, Naruto with a knowing smile as he shook his head and Fuu with a look that questioned if she made the right choice. After reaffirming her decision that she would rather have these two with her than against her she turned back towards Naruto before she muttered "…As I was saying. I think it would be in my best interests to join your group."

"Yeahhoooo!" shouted Naruto as he pumped his fist into the air. "We've got a new member!"

Once his little outburst was over he stuck out his hands and said "Welcome to the Marauders."

A faint smile formed on Fuu's face and as shook his hand a warm feeling spread throughout her body at being so openly welcomed by these two. It was a new experience for her for sure, and it was something that she felt she could get used to. Her internal reflection on these new feelings was short lived however as Kushina brought both her and Naruto back to reality. "Alright you two we can celebrate later. Right now we need to get back to camp and get our other traveling companion, so we can get to Wave as soon as possible."

Naruto's happy expression suddenly turned to a serious one and as he took to the trees he said "Right, we don't have a moment to lose."

Curious as to what caused this sudden shift in Naruto she quickly caught up to him. "What's going on? Why are we in such a rush to get to Wave?"

Without even turning to look at her he replied "A member of our group is missing… she was supposed to meet with a contact we have in Wave, but she never showed." Naruto let out a deep sigh before he continued "We're hoping to find some clue as to where she is once we get there."

"What makes you think she even made it to Wave? I mean she could have been attacked anywhere from where you last saw here and Wave."

Naruto remained silent contemplating just how much he should tell her, but just as the group landed in the clearing on the outskirts of their campsite Kushina decided to answer. "We know she was in Wave because she set us a message that she had just crossed its borders, and was going to go meet our contact."

Before Fuu could even formulate her next question she noticed another Red-haired woman leaning up against a tree. "And would you mind telling me just where have you two been?"

"Just dealing with a disturbance not far from our campsite." replied Kushina in an authoritative tone; she didn't like how Mei seemed to want to be in complete control of the group even though they had never agreed to serve under her. In a play to show she was the one in charge of the others and not Mei she stepped out in front and stared Mei down.

Mei quirked and eyebrow at the comment clearly not liking that she was being kept in the dark, before she looked to Kushina's left at spotted Fuu. "A disturbance… somehow I think there's more to it than that."

"Oh?" Kushina tilted her head a little to the right as that statement, clearly wanting to know what she was on about. "And what make you say that?"

Crossing her arms over her chest Mei got a look of annoyance over her face as she huffed, "Oh I don't know… could have something to do with the fact that you and your son took out a squad of Hunters back there."

"What's your point?"

"My point…" Mei huffed as she pushed herself off of the tree trunk she was leaning against, "Is that you're wasting time dealing with these _disturbances_ instead of focusing on our agreement."

"I haven't forgotten about our agreement." Snapped Kushina as she got right up into Mei's face and poked her in the chest before she added "And let me just make this perfectly clear right now! I don't like it when someone wants to control my actions. I got enough of that when I lived in Konoha and I'll be damned if I left it happen again. Is that understood?!"

"I understand perfectly." Mei all but snarled as she could understand where Kushina was coming from but didn't like the attitude the red haired kunoichi had used to get her point across, but her angry thoughts where soon shoved to the side as she noticed the green haired girl that was standing beside Naruto, a girl that Mai knew wasn't there before all this happened. "Who's the girl?"

Kushina glanced over her shoulder at their newest member and gave her a reassuring smile. "Her names Fuu and she's our new recruit."

"New recruit?" questioned Mei, "Recruit for what? Don't tell me you're picking up strays. Perhaps I should test her skills so that I know she won't be a burden on the mission at hand."

Incensed at what Mei was implying about Fuu she decided to give this woman a piece of her mine. Kushina got back into Mei's face and growled, "Don't even think about it Mei. It's not your place to question my decisions! Never forget that we aren't your underlings. We've only agreed to help you in Wave because it's mutually beneficial. As I've said before anything after that has yet to be determined."

Having said her piece Kushina took a step back and let out a calming breath before she said "Now if you still want our help I suggest we both put this behind us, and start acting like the professionals we are?"

A curt nod from Mei showed that she agreed to put aside their differences and work together for the mission ahead.

With the tension that permeated the area just a few moments ago sufficiently broken for now Mei took this opportunity to try and repair the damage that she now realizes she caused. "Yes you're right Kushina; it's not my place to question what you do with your group. It's just that this mission is really important for the future of my village and I got carried away."

Kushina just waved her off, "As long as you don't do it again, its water under the bridge as they say. So why don't we get going, if we move quickly we should make it to Wave before the end of the day."

With a quick nod of agreement Mei went off to gather her equipment with Kushina right behind her. Once those two were gone Fuu turned towards Naruto and said "Man your mother can be scary sometimes you know that?"

"Oh you have no idea Fuu-chan. Funny thing is you haven't even seen her truly mad yet… now that is when she gets scary." Replied Naruto as he motioned her to follow. "Come on if we don't hurry we'll be left behind and we don't want that now do we?"

"Right." Relied Fuu before both of them took off to help pack up the campsite. A short time later the campsite was packed up and all traces of them even being there were sealed away. Shoving the last of the sealing scrolls into her pouch Kushina turned towards Mei, Naruto, and Fuu and said "Alright let's move out. If we move at top speed we should be able to reach Wave by nightfall."

"Then what are we waiting for Nee-Chan need us!" shouted Naruto as he stowed away the last of his sealing scrolls.

Fuu turned towards Naruto and asked "She must be carrying some really important information for you to be this concerned?"

"It's not that." he replied as he meet Fuu's gaze. "She's family."

Seeing the perplexed look on Fuu's face Kushina placed a hand on her shoulder as she said "Fuu now that you're part of this group, you're going to learn that we see each other as family. And our number one rule is family always comes first. So that means that if you have to choose the completion of your mission or saving your family, you save your family. Understand?"

Fuu could only nod dumbly as the implications of Kushina's words sunk into her brain. With a gentle smile on her face Kushina patted Fuu's shoulder one last time. "Never forget that we're your family now and we'll always be there for you."

As Kushina signaled the rest of the group to move out Fuu's lips curled into a smile of their own as she muttered to herself. "Family… I think I could get use to that."

* * *

Next Chapter: Wave


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